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Australia are the new men’s wheelchair basketball world champions after recording a convincing 81–57 victory over Italy in the final of the Ottawa 2026 IWBF World Championships on Saturday, 19 September, at TD Place.
The Australians impressed throughout the tournament with their powerful offence, leading all teams with an average of 81.6 points per game. They saved one of their best performances for the biggest stage.
Dominant from the outset, the Aussie Rollers disrupted Italy’s main attacking threats and remained in control of the scoreboard throughout the contest.
Jaylen Brown, one of the young stars of the tournament, delivered another outstanding performance with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists. Tom O’Neill-Thorne was also instrumental, hitting three shots from long range and finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and an impressive 16 assists.
“Italy are a world-class team and they have had a great tournament. They are so disciplined,” said O’Neill-Thorne. “But in the half court, we knew that if we stretched the game out and put as much pressure on them as possible, they might struggle a little more over 40 minutes.
“Luckily, that pressure worked pretty early. We were able to build up a lead and hold on to it for the whole game.”
The victory secured Australia’s third world title, adding to their triumphs in 2010 and 2014, and marked their return to the top of the podium after a 12-year wait.
For Italy, the silver medal represents their best-ever performance at a World Championship, having reached the final for the first time.
On their way to the historic gold-medal game, the Italians recorded notable victories over the USA in the group stage and Great Britain in the semi-final.
Filippo Carossino led Italy in the final with 16 points, while Giulio Maria Papi added 13.
Gold-medal result
Australia 81–57 Italy
The full schedule, results, team rosters and live statistics are available through the official Ottawa 2026 competition pages. All Round of 16 games can also be watched live on the IWBF and Wheelchair Basketball Canada YouTube channels.
